


What Happens Now?

by Kionos



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Ghosts, Not Steve Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-10-29 19:51:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10860897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kionos/pseuds/Kionos
Summary: After Tony Stark is abandoned in a broken suit with no way out, he doesn't magically make it home so Steve can remain looking like a good guy. No, reality happens. But Rogers isn't the only one facing the consequences.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Forget Me Not](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8569270) by [Cyane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyane/pseuds/Cyane). 



> I cried while writing this so tissue warning. Also on a serious note this work goes into the detail of grieving a loved one. If that is something that could trigger you please be careful. 
> 
> these characters aren't mine. Otherwise the movies wouldn't have such glaring plot holes, like the good guy doing bad guy things but remaining the good guy. Its been a year and I am still salty AF over civil war.

When he came to, he’s embarrassed to admit, it took him a good hour or so to figure out what the hell was going on. He felt fine but he was surrounded by out of date tech in what looked like an old bomb shelter. He found the missile silo during some exploring later that day. The last thing he could remember was racing out to Siberia to help his stubborn ass friend. He supposes that's where he is now. The thing that doesn’t make sense is he in an unheated abandoned Hydra base in the middle of the Siberian Tundra and he's not cold. He got nothing more than jeans and a light leather jacket and he’s not even chilly. He should be cold enough for hypothermia to be an issue but he feels like he’s at a comfortable 75 degrees.  
He also can find neither the suit nor Steve. He did find five frozen corpses presumably the other soldiers, but he has trouble believing that Steve could have murdered them in cold blood that way. He supposed Barnes did it. The man may have been brainwashed into doing all those heinous acts making him technically innocent, but the crimes would still weigh on his soul making him darker, a little broken. He doesn’t think Steve could understand that, he hopes Steve doesn’t let Barnes continue this way.  
He tries to finagle with the tech to get some sort of signal out of the bunker, but it's completely dead. He can’t even get the strange screen to light up. Someone recently cleaned it of the dust and ice. Repaired it a little so he had hoped he get it to do something, but it was uncooperative as the rest of the outdated shit. He continued his search for his armor wandering for the life of him what the hell had happened. He spends a few days there convinced he's having some sort of hallucination or dream. He calls out for Steve anyway.  
~~~  
He’s been counting the days by the Solar cycle like some kind of caveman. He’s been here three weeks since he woke. He’s certain that he isn’t hallucinating, but that's about all he can determine. He hasn’t found any food, but doesn’t feel hungry. He’s been drinking the snow he gathers in a rusted pail he found. He's not sure what to make of this. He starting to seriously consider the craziest explanations when he hears men shouting.  
He follows the sounds of humans, he careful not wanting to be seen if their Hydra or Ross. He noticed the insignia for the airforce and smiles. Rhodey no doubt. He smiles wide before showing himself. Except his crazy ideas seem to have a little more reality than he’d like. Because no one notices him. Not when he screams, not when he stands in front of them, and not even when he pushes on man. The man looks startled and confused but quickly shrugs it off and smiles at his friend teasing him for being clumsy. He crazy idea gets a hell of a lot more merit when he follows more panicked shouting to a group of soldiers and medics carrying a body bag to the planes.  
His first thought is no! Steve! He's already crying and sobbing for his lost friend when he noticed the next thing to be loaded onto the plane is a disassembled Iron Man. He doesn’t want to believe it, but he can’t deny himself the curiousity. He follows the men onto the plane and listens as they talk about the various injuries the found on the body. He doesn’t remember those happening and he doesn’t believe it. Not when more soldiers onboard carrying a shield and a metal arm. Not when after landing a medical examiner is cataloging the obvious injuries. Not when he witnesses the man match the measurement of the fatal wound with his friends weapon of choice.  
His only comfort is that someone else must have stolen the shield and used it. Or that Steve was under some kind of mind control. It must have been an accident. He isn’t sure why needs to justify it, but he does and it makes him feel a little better. He knows Steve murdered him, but he can’t accept it's as simple as that.  
~~~  
“Thats him. Its Tony”  
“I am sorry Colonel.”  
“I need to arrange transport for the body. Where there any personal effects?”  
“Yes, sir. Interpol collected most of it as evidence.”  
He manages to hold his tears in long enough to get inside the car. Happy helps him get inside and the round toward the front to drive. He can see the tears slowly leaking out of Happys eyes as well. It's not long before they’re both sobbing. He can’t help but remember that crazy little 15 yr old kid that looked up to him the first time with the swollen eye and wobbling lip. “Don’t worry kid I'll look after you.” he’d promised. He’d never broken that promise despite Tony avid belief that he didn’t need ‘looking after’.He remembers the first time he’d met Howard and the man had dismissed him from his dorm to speak with Tony. He remembers holding the crying boy in his arms as he parsed through the sobbing to know that Jarvis his beloved butler the man that had truly raised Tony was dead.  
He had kept the grieving maniac fed and in classes as he binge engineered the impossible. Four and half months later JARVIS had come online. He’d been so proud of his little brother that he'd teared up then. Tony had teased him for his ‘old man ways’ for years. He remembers the last three decades and tries to reconcile that lively infuriating man with the beaten and broken body the Rogers had left behind. He’s been a military man for as long as he’s known Tony. He’s met the best and the worst of humanity, yet he can not remember being so disgusted with a group of people.Not even the Ten Rings had done this much damage.  
Now he has to plan his little brother's funeral days before his 46th birthday. He has to go home and tell the woman who loved Tony too much who feared this day with all her heart that Tony’s not ever coming home. He has to explain to go home to a different 15 yr old boy and explain to that boy that his mentor, his idol was murdered by his family.  
He doesn’t have the strength for this without Tony by his side.  
~~~  
He follows Rhodey after the meeting the examiner. Hoping he can get through to him. He is nearly blindsided by the harsh ragged sobs that envelope both of his closest and oldest friends. He wishes he could comfort Rhodey cuddle to him like they haven't done since their days at MIT. He hates Steve a little for not being here to do what he made sure Tony couldn’t do himself.He knows the man didn’t mean for what happened. Has his doubts that Cap did it in the first place, but he’s the team leader and one of the Avengers needs him.


	2. Clint's a conspiracy theorist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see the Exvengers prison break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline I'm using is as following   
> May 6th, 2016: The fight in Siberia, Tony dies pretty much as Steve and Bucky are leaving.   
>  Clint & crew were imprisoned that afternoon  
> May 27th: Tony's body is found by an SI team  
> May 29th: Tony's 46th Birthday-or would have been  
> May 30th: Tony's funeral  
> June 20th: Raft prison break

He doesn’t know how long they’ve been here, locked away in cells like criminals. A couple months at least, he’s sure of that. He knows its their rescue the moment the lights go out. He knows its Cap and he looks up to return Wanda’s smile. His smiles is a little more relieved than angry, though he can’t say the same for Wanda’s. They wait like ducks listening to the quiet thump of bodies hitting the ground. He doesn’t hear a repulsor, but he realizes that since he and Sam are here that Tony’s the only one who can fly. He knows he’d never hear Nat so doesn’t think twice about it. 

The rescue happens quite quickly. Within an hour of the lights going down, they’re in a jet headed out over the water. He’s still looking for Nat and Tony. He’s surprised to see a dark skinned woman about the size of Steve in the pilot's seat. He looks to Steve who doesn’t seem to notice his questioning look. Sam saves him the trouble of verbalizing it. 

“Wheres Stark? He was supposed to help you?”

“He came to help. Things….things didn’t go as planned. We fought, I won and we went our separate ways. This is Nakia she’s one of King T’Challa’s personal guard.”

“What did Stark do?” the words sounded more like a demon’s hiss than a question. 

“Wanda…”

“No! He locked us up like animals! He collared me! He scammed Sam into giving up your location! Now you want to protect him from the consequences! The whole world seems to be more than willingly to turn a blind eye to Stark's monstrosities, and so have we! Look where it got us!”

“Tony is an Avenger. He did what he thought was right. We all did. I’m sorry the team didn’t come together on this, but for now that's the situation. We can’t expect Tony to throw aside what he believes is right for our sake.”

Clint can’t take anymore. He was surprised and hurt that Stark didn’t show, although he shouldn’t have been, but Wanda’s right. They can’t keep sugarcoating everything Stark does so they don’t have to face the fact that Iron Man needs to go, along with all his money, resources, and upgrades. They’ve become so accustomed to being coddled sugar babies that they’ve continually put up with Stark's abuse and covered his ass. 

“Steve, man, you know Wanda’s right. Maybe everything isn’t St-Tony’s fault, but he has done a great deal to worsen the situations. I know you're attached, he’s your friends kid, but c’mon man. Where is he? If he cared so much, why isn’t he here?” He doesn’t ask where Nat is. He knows where. She’d have made sure his family was safe first and foremost. Then she would set up a plan. Another month or so and it would’ve been Nat here. Likely just for him. 

“I don’t know where Tony is or what he's up to. They....SI announced about a month ago that Tony was dead. After our fight, Bucky and I went with T’challa. He offered us sanctuary in apology for his pursuit of Bucky. Tony had his suit and Friday. We had to disable the suit to stop him from killing Bucky. Afterwards he disappeared. I’m not sure if he’s planning anything, if this is part of his plan to work the Accords in our favor, but the ‘funeral’ was held on 30th.”

“Wait Stark’s dead. Do you think maybe Hydra got to him?”

“I considered it, honestly i was devastated by the thought. I mean... I left him there with no backup, but... everything surrounding his death and funeral was really shady. They didn’t even announce he was missing until they announced his death on the 26th. They kept the funeral private and wouldn’t release an official statement as to how he died. I seemed a little shady for people mourning.”

“A little shady? Steve...Why don’t you have your shield?”

“I left it with Tony.”

“So the only person who knows where your shield is, is the one faking his death. A death that will look like your murder. Steve...he’s gonna frame you.”

They all looked at each other in worry. The Accords would surely blow over soon, or even if they didn’t exceptions would be made when the world realized they’d been right all along. There was no doubt a big catastrophe would happen and the Avengers would be needed. The governments would give up their obvious grab for control, but if Steve and Bucky are framed for murder...they’ll be named accessories. Terrorist won’t be just a word used for click-bait headlines. There are so many ways Tony can play this, and that whore of his will play the puppet on his strings.

“T’challa was on Tony’s side, how can we trust we’re safe in Wakanda?”

“He was in Siberia as well, he apprehended Zemo and gave us transport. He’s known our whereabouts and all the power in this situation for a month and even with strong evidence indicting us for murder he hasn’t turned us in. He also funded and supplied this rescue. T’challa’s a young man who watched his father die in front of him. He was grieving, his actions before Siberia were...they weren’t right, but they do deserve perspective and sympathy.”

He looked from Steve to Wanda. She had tears in her eyes, he supposed if anyone understood that it be Wanda. She’d ran into Hydra’s arms desperate for justice. Hydra’s crimes had meant nothing to her only getting justice for her family. If he can forgive Wanda for turning into a terrorist, he supposes he can forgive T’challa what amounts to threats and mild assault. 

“Alright. We’ll need to play this right. And if we’re gonna fight this shit we need Nat. I don’t care what Tony’s master plan is, we can’t trust it to go in our favor, if that even is the goal. 

 

~~

 

Watching Rhodey and Happy sob like children was the most heartbreaking thing he’d ever seen. He stayed trying in vain to comfort or contact them for hours. They never heard him and he didn’t want to move anything or write a note, afraid he’d just frighten them.   
He drifted through the compound, walking thru the Avengers wing and taking stock of everyone’s rooms. He was worried about the others in Ross’ prison, but he could longer save them. It was cowardly, he knew that, but he needed time to adjust. Be there for his family even though they wouldn’t know the difference. 

He spent time watching over Pepper, frankly surprised out how devastated she seemed to be. He knows he shouldn’t be, they’ve been friends for over a decade, but he can’t shake the thought. She’d left him, refused his calls, canceled appearances when he would be in attendance or if she couldn’t cancel hers she’d cancel his. He thought he’d finally overtaxed her. He expected sadness and a whole lot of frustration at his death, but no devastation. 

He couldn’t help but chuckle at Pepper’s comments over his work. Since he’d returned from Afghanistan he’d been careful to leave at least 5 upgrades on every piece of Stark tech, all notes and blueprints for R&D (at least the ones he hadn’t trashed for being too dangerous), and all his private research on Extremis, nano-bites, and the next invasion. He’d left files on potential recruits who could match or surpass his intellect. He’d managed to get Parker on board already, and set the foundation for Harley, he hadn’t gotten a chance to meet Riri yet, but that girl is going to be a prize this world. 

He hadn’t been sure it would be appreciated, because he was planning to die, and far beyond the simple give my shit to the kids kinda will that most people have. He was happy to be able to see that it was not only appreciated, but a genuine relief on Pepper. He didn’t understand why he was stuck here, especially because he seemed to be the only ghost around, but Pepper’s face had made it worth it. 

He was wholly upset to see the moment ruined by a call from Ross, who coincidentally didn’t believe he was dead, because Rhodey hadn’t let him see the corpse. Watching Rhodey smugly explain to Ross that he didn’t have the authority to see the remains and then have UN back up that statement had been pure gold. He wishes Bruce could’ve seen it too. He was a little concerned to know that there was a break-in at the Raft. Steve didn’t have the know how to hack that place. 

With a sigh he left Pepper’s side, willing himself to Clint’s to at least oversee how bad this went down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for a Beta! I'd loved to get someone to help edit and brainstorm ideas. 
> 
> Also guys give me some feedback! I'd love to read your thoughts.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's POV of the Prison Break

CHAPTER THREE

He arrives next to Clint and almost instantaneously, just in time to catch Wanda’s sneered remark. He can’t help snapping back that dead people can’t do anything, even though he knows no one will hear. He expects someone to defend him or roll their eyes at Wanda’s accusatory tone. It seems that Sam’s attempting to but is quickly cut off by Wanda’s tirade. It hurts, he knows none of its true and that Wanda demonizes him beyond all reason. He still feels a stab of guilt rush through him.

Steve steps in to defend him and he would’ve felt a little vindicated if it weren’t for the dead look in Steve's eyes that says he doesn’t believe a word he’s saying. That he agrees with Wanda, but feels some necessity to contradict her. Apparently no one else notices that look, because Wanda’s trying to appear as though she isn’t gobsmacked with Steve’s stupidity, but is failing horribly. Clint launches into a tirade reminiscent of his “why did I have to pay for crimes, your mean Tony for making me do this” monologue he gave at the Raft. This one is more placating like he’s talking to a stubbornly ignorant child rather than the vitriol Tony got. 

Tony knows that Clint says mean things when he’s angry. He’s teased the other man about it for years. He understands that right now, Clint doesn’t know that Tony couldn’t come. He reassures himself that Clint will forgive him when the truth comes out. He’s not at all prepared for Steve. 

It hurts, worse than hearing Rhodey wouldn’t walk, worse than when Jarvis died, when his mother died. He thought he understand betrayal, he knows this is worst he could get. They fault him for crimes he didn’t and couldn’t commit and speak so blandly about his death as though he doesn’t matter in the least. As though a man who was as close as family to them hadn’t just passed, as though Steve didn’t kill him. 

He angry that the man he kept his faith in even after he murdered him, has betrayed him this way. He wants to rip Steve’s tongue out for glossing over his murder as though he was discussing a training exercise. He wants to crash this plane and watch these bastards he used and manipulated him for years, these bastards he’s loved unconditionally for years, burn. Not a one of them even seriously considers that he’s dead or even gravely injured. 

He’s seething, bits and pieces of his death are coming back. Steve’s betrayal, Barnes trying to remove the reactor, Steve hesitating to decapitate him, he not taking that final shot to save his life, Steve deciding instead to crush his reactor, his heart, and his ribcage. Barnes murdered his Mama in cold blood, Steve hid it from him, he used his resources to fund and supply Search & Rescue missions. Tony funded the rescue of his mother's murderer, his father funded the search and rescue of Tony’s murderer, supplied the weapon. 

Now they’re accusing him of framing and pretending. He’s the manipulative bastard with an ego. Sure he sees the fucking logic in that. He’s the one who threw thousands of undercover operatives under the bus to prove a point and didn’t care because ‘he’s needed’ so there won’t be consequences. He’s the one got so lost in his own righteous agenda he murdered a team mate. 

Living Tony would have been hard at work getting their dumbasses pardoned and taking most if not all of the blame. Paying for damages and answering to the people for the Avengers faults, like always. Living Tony wouldn’t have done something so drastic, as to frame Steve for his fake death. Living Tony’s ‘Master Plan’ would have definitely worked in their favor, likely to his detriment. Dead Tony isn’t naive and ignorant, he knows these monsters for what they really are now. Dead Tony’s master plan will ruin them. He can’t talk to people but he can still interact with things. His lab is still present. He has Friday who can do a hell of lot on her own. He can talk to her through code.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've tried to include Tony's point of view and plot point in each chapter, but this POV is quite a turning point and I felt it deserved a little more attention.   
> This entire work is un-beta'd for now, so anyone interested please let me know. Thanks for reading


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha makes her plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unbeta'd, I did read through to hopefully catch mistakes, but might have missed a few. 
> 
> This chapter is my justification for Natasha's acts during The Winter Soldier.  
> I couldn't understand why they didn't call Tony, or why Nat would do something so damn stupid as to release that information. This was a terrorist act plain and simple.

He watches them as they settle in the Wakandan palace, he watches them as they try in vain to hunt down Natasha, he watches as Princess Shuri reams T’challa a new asshole. He enjoys every minute of it as he plans. He uses the information he gathers to layout his plan. He’s touched base with Friday, who seemed nonplussed over speaking with a ghost, he supposes that isn’t surprising for a computer. Friday’s keeping all of this information stored on a heavily protected server, just waiting for the moment to strike. 

About a week after Team Cap is settled in, Clint and Sam convince Steve to post a statement to the Avengers Facebook page. He seethes when he realized he didn’t think about blocking the login for Facebook. He remembered all of the official stuff at least. The statement unsurprisingly goes viral. The statement a polite regurgitation of the Raft conversation. 

I, Steve Rogers and my fellow Avengers were heartbroken to hear of the passing of Tony Stark. We regret being unable to attend his services and send our regards to Colonel Rhodes and Ms. Potts. I too once awoke to a world where my loved ones had passed, where my best friend was no more, I wouldn’t wish the experience on anyone. I only hope that in this solidarity Col. Rhodes, and the American People can understand why I had to save Sgt. Barnes. 

He, like Tony, was a victim of circumstance. A circumstance that left him as a scapegoat. I chess piece for politicians to use to absolve themselves of their agenda. The agendas the prioritized over the capture and annihilation of terrorist groups such as Hydra. It is easier to criminalize Sgt. Barnes and give people a sense of justice, however false it may be, than to own up to one's mistakes. Especially so in the Public’s eye. 

Tony and I ended up on separate sides of this issue, and I wish with all of my heart that he had been able to understand. To see the truth. Unfortunately his stance became his downfall. It was an honor to fight beside Iron Man all these years. 

 

Thank You, Cpt. Rogers 

Apparently Clint thought it best to play the heartbroken teammates and then go in and state their innocence after the public sympathy came pouring in. He could still pinpoint the attacks on his character, would have been able to even if they hadn’t actually debated on the best way to word something nasty to sound nice. It wasn’t as subtle as they believed. 

He didn’t even want to imagine how much of the world would soak that shit up. He can’t stand the very thought that they may get away with this. 

~~

She was seething. She had risked everything to help Steve and Barnes. Over the years she had come to understand that she had been biased and misguided in her evaluation of Stark. She knew it was a mask, a last attempt to minimize his own damage. That much was obvious when he played drunk and she knew the man had had only a finger's worth of whiskey in that party. She’s embarrassed to admit, and never will outloud, that she had been jealous. Coulson had been her and Clint’s guiding light for over a decade by that point, and he had spoken of Tony like one would a particularly stubborn, but adorable, younger brother. 

Clint and her had been Coulson’s assets, his bragging rights. “ i turned not only the great Hawkeye, but the Black Widow as well. Tony and Pepper had been Coulson’s friends. Pepper was very much like Coulson she could see where their relationship built from. Tony should have been the bane of his existence. He had the qualities of Clint that had annoyed him so much, times ten. She had been angry and she didn’t want him on the Avengers.

Fury’s opinion of Stark was pretty much in line with her report, and Starks exploits sealed the deal. She hadn’t counted on Fury taking Coulson’s recommendation over hers. She didn’t want him and Stark working that closely. After New York she hated Stark for grieving Phil too. He seemed almost more distraught than even Clint and it didn’t sit right. She had refused Starks offer of an apartment and went to DC with Steve. 

Clint didn’t share her concerns and got on with Tony like a house on fire. He had trusted Stark a great deal, far too quickly in her opinion. After the fiasco with SHIELD that Tony snidely called ShieldGate Clint had damn near ripped her a new one. “When you're fighting a damn computer program and AI, you call the leading expert, especially when he still on speed dial, Nat!”

Truth be told, despite her grudge, she had suggested calling Tony. Steve had refused claiming more people would only be a liability. She hadn’t understood why they then sought refuge with VA counselor, but obeyed nonetheless. She shouldn’t have. She had been operating on her handlers orders, fallen too far back into her training. The doctor that had helped her break her conditioning had died in that shit storm. She hadn’t thought that far, but she should have. She was safe and SHIELD was bad. Her thoughts had been that simplistic.

She thinks Tony hated her after that, she thinks Clint kind of did too. She knows she did. Tony had gone through as much of the information as possible, saved as many as possible, locked down as much as possible. It hadn’t been enough. 2763 deaths. In 36 hours she killed nearly three thousand people. 

She loved Tony a little more with every one he saved. He cleaned up her mess, helped avoid a little more red in her ledger. She owed him far more than a betrayal and a few snide comments. She had been terrified of losing her family. She doesn't remember much of what happened the first she lost so much, she remembers with startling clarity when the second one was lost. She lost Bruce when she manipulated him, she lost Steve the moment he believed an active Hydra operative over his own, she lost Clint when he answered Steve’s call. She couldn’t have stopped any of that.

She lost Tony when she abandoned him. She had realized too late that Tony was all the family she had left. She had risked everything to say goodbye one last time. A proper goodbye. She waited in the vents over the penthouse while Pepper, Rhodes, Mr, Hogan, and a few kids she didn’t know cried together over a dead body. A body so beaten that Pepper had not opened the casket until she verified that the kids were gone. 

She’d allowed that to happen, she could have stopped that. 

She considered going back to find Steve, demand answers, but she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t just kill him, stopping all possibility of justice. Steve had rampaged through an entire town in Romania, She wasn’t the only staring at the mutilated body of her loved one, she's sure of that. She she leaves, she hides, and she plans. Every meticulous detail is carefully orchestrated. Steve will pay for what he's done, what he’s stolen from her. 

That bullshit statement, she read between the lines, she fucking lives between the lines. They think their being framed and slandered. That Tony’s death is nothing more than the an “unfortunate” coincidence the UN is using to further their Agendas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little early to get on Tony b-day!


	5. Chapter Five

The first thing he needed to do was ruin all of Team Rogue’s credibility. He set up an algorithm for Friday to determine which shares of the ‘Apology’ had reached the target audience. And then he gave her a simple statement that could be reworded a hundred different ways. And set her upon the internet to troll the comment sections. Little blurbs that point out the attack on Cap’s dead friend. He would not let the world set on its haunches and bow to Roger’s will out of laziness and a level of fanboying that even Beliebers wouldn’t touch. 

Rogers has done the hard work after all, all he had to do was produce a highlight reel. That's exactly what he did. He spent 18 hours cutting and syncing new clips and recordings from both the War Machine and Iron Man. He didn’t even really have take anything out of context either. Rogers decided a terrorist was more important than 87 innocent Romanians. That intel from a confused brainwashed POW was worth 13.7 million in Federal and Personal damages. He was the one that decided his followers shouldn’t pay for their crimes no matter the severity and destroyed a floating prison claiming the lives of 348 security guards, Americans. 

He’s an American and he loves his country, but he knows how easily Americans can justify or look away from another's suffering. But their own suffering? Their offended at the very suggestion. Captain America was supposed to protect America from bullies, and all he did was take out his own competition. Romania and Germany are polishing the guillotines just for Team Cap, but the US is still trying to downplay everything. Making sympathetic noises while doing nothing. Ross is hiding the deaths in an attempt to cover up the illegal incarceration of many American citizens, but Tony's always been able to hack the most secure of servers. He's got footage of the prison and the state of its inmates. Hes also got footage of Cap throwing men into the depths of the freezing water.

The American People will vilify Rogers.

~~

He’s searching through comments hoping to get a good sense of when and where to post his video, when he comes across something that touches him. 

“Didn’t Stark house these fuckers for years? Don’t know how much superheroing pays, but I doubt it's enough to buy a penthouse in Manhattan and a shit ton of designer personalized weapons.”

“Pretty suspicious that Iron Man goes to apprehend Rogers and Barnes and they disappear to post Facebook garbage while Starks in a closed casket funeral. Wouldn’t be surprised if Cap was Hydra all along.”

“He did recruit the Witch who was Hydra at the time.”

“Dude? How do you even know that shit? Ya’ll just pissed speciest assholes who want all mutants to register like fucking Jews and line up for the gas chambers.”

“Mutants are not a different species, imbecile. They’re a genetic anomaly and the Accords has nothing to do with mutants.”

“Yes it does, shitface, they fuckin’ making us all hafta to go through the UN to be able to do anything. Next they'll be makin’ us join the military and shit. “

“The Accords are only in effect as oversight for active mutants or otherwise enhanced people who are working as a task force. It outlines who they answer to, when they can enter a country, when they need to work with specialized troops. That sort of thing. Rogers just doesn't want someone telling him he can’t have pet Hydra agents.”

“Barnes was innocent of the bombing! He wasn’t willingly Hydra and Wanda was a kid! That's what Cap said when the introduced her in that press conference. Get your facts straight and quit victim blaming.”

“Victim blaming is telling the victim they deserved or were somehow responsible for the crime committed against them. Barnes and Wanda may have been under Hydra dubiously, but they were there. Wanda willingly committed horrible act and made no secret she had worked with Ultron and had violated the Avengers minds. Besides that these people need AT LEAST severe therapy and to be kept under close watch. They are highly dangerous to themselves and the people around them. They shouldn’t be running free on a technicality, they should be given treatment for mental illness. I agree with the your statement on Barnes being innocent but in the Winter Soldier’s Crimes he is still the perpetrator. He committed the act and is still capable of doing it MORE.”

“Let's not question that according to the SHIELD files that had been leaked Wanda Maximoff was 17 when she joined Hydra. Plenty old enough to know better than to join a terrorist group. It's not like Hydra isn’t well known or she was raised to it. And she was 24 when she attacked the Avengers and aided an evil robot in the destruction of her hometown. She probably had extended family members in the town still. She’s no kid. We have men and women dying to PROTECT their country younger than that. Hell we have men and women raising families and managing a successful lifestyle and/or career younger than that.”  
~~

He read thread after thread of comments. Exhilarating in that common consensus that he was innocent. He had believed too many people of the public would not think beyond ‘Cap’s a hero’. He was surprised by the support he had received online. Sure there were the few Rogers sympathizers, most of which believed that the Accords were anti-mutant. That's probably more from the fact that the American Face of the Accords is Ross. In the end he decides not to ‘leak’ the video on some site, but to email it anonymously to several media outlets.

This isn’t something that should be saved for internet activists who repost every sob story. Apparently the world believed in him and wanted justice for the Iron Man. He hadn’t expected a lot of people to grieve him. He knew Rhodey, he thought maybe Happy,and perhaps Pepper too although at the end there he wouldn’t have bet money on it. She seemed so eager to be done with him. Perhaps he is being uncharitable. She obviously grieved for him as much as Happy and Rhodey. 

He would have bet on the average joe either saying ‘good riddance’ to his death or being entirely unaffected whatsoever. But these people they MISSED him, they grieved him. So many people were hosting their own wakes for their fallen hero, hanging banners with the arc reactor silhouette on it. Not just innocent kids who didn't’ understand the crimes of his past, but grown men writing open letters to him about how he inspired them to change their lives. Women expressing their gratitude for the role model he set for the sons. In response to claims for Cap extremists that he wasn’t hero or other nonsense, some New Yorkers were wearing t-shirts with a nuke on them and the saying “I died in 2012” and a stylized Iron Man helmet of the sleeves. 

He had sat in stunned tears as he kept scrolling through comments. He didn’t know if seeing him break in Siberia would encourage or discourage these beliefs but his soul healed a little bit from them.


	6. The Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An interview the delves a little deeper into what happened in Siberia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the long wait. I've had trouble deciding where to go with this and what order things should go in. I appreciate all of your comments and kudos!

“ Here with us is Dr. Traik, a renowned psychologist specializing in PTSD symptoms. He’s here today to discuss the effect of a child watching his parents murder. Thank you for joining us today Dr. Traik.”

“Thanks for having me June.”

“Earlier you said that it was obvious this trauma had been a sore spot for Dr, Stark even before Siberia, what did you mean by that statement?”

“Last year I had read Dr. Starks essay about his Binary Augmented Retro Framing device and was quite curious to see its introduction to the world. You see this device connects to the hippo-campus and portrays the memory chosen by the wearer. It allows the wearer to relive the memory in a distant way or to alter the events so as to allow them to heal from the trauma. It is innovative technology and would do wonders for victims of PTSD and other mental illnesses. However as I said the wearer must relive the traumatic memory.”

“That's very fascinating Doctor, but how does that increase Dr. Starks emotional response to the murder?”

“Well during his presentation Dr. Stark expressed a regret over his last moments with his parents. You might be too young to remember, but Dr. Stark was 17 at the time. A child by many standards and he had already lost his butler who truly raised him the month before and he was having trouble connecting to his distant parents. He regrets how he ended things and often times young people do not have the experience they need to deal with grief well. He likely blamed himself for their death for years. Please remember before the release of the Siberia Video the world and Dr. Stark believed Howard had crashed the car speeding.

The press back then had speculated that perhaps Howard had been angry at his son and driving angry. Dr. Stark seemed to have taken that accusation to heart. He believed that had he been more respectful to his father in their last encounter that his father wouldn’t have crashed. So essentially Dr. Stark spent 30 years believing he was responsible for his parents death only to find out that they had been murdered. That would be a hard truth to bear for the most mentally well individual. Add in that a man Dr. Stark trusted with his life had known and lied to him for years in order to protect the murderer, and the murderer was right there with him, and that Dr. Stark had to watch that brutal murder. It would have broken anyone and the PTSD that Dr. Stark has is very severe and it's likely he couldn’t think past that Mr Barnes was the man that killed his family."

“You were speaking earlier with me and you mentioned that Mr. Rogers only escalated the situation. Many people are defending the vigilante’s actions by claiming self defense, you disagreed, would you care to go into depth on that?”

“Absolutely June. Proper response to a violent outburst like Dr. Starks, is to hold the person down so they can not injure either themselves nor the people around them. Mr. Rogers attacked and instigated the physical fight between Dr. Stark and Sergeant Barnes. If you recall in the video released, we saw Dr. Stark strike Mr. Rogers. He seemingly more focused on the betrayal of his friend then Sergeant Barnes, that is until Mr. Rogers shifted the focus to Barnes.”

“Holding someone down more simply said than done, Dr. Traik. The Iron Man armour has taken out tanks.”

“Yet Mr. Rogers had no problem holding the armour still mid-flight to take out a repulsor.”


	7. Letter to the Editor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is inspired by Cher who left quite the fabulous idea in the comments.

[](https://www.flickr.com/gp/151939941@N04/Ch4KQ7)   
[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/151939941@N04/36097328074/in/photostream/)

Dear Editor,  
Did Captain America just accuse the UN of faking Stark’s death to frame him?

 

Dear Editor,  
I know I’m just some old man with only have the education these kids gets nowadays, but if Iron Man could use a repulsor to sever a metallic limb he could have easily severed and organic one or just blow a hole through their chest.

Dear Editor,  
Did Rogers watch a different video? Stark’s way home was clearly offline and he was wheezing as though having an asthma attack. I guess from drowning in his own blood. What kind of monster watches himself kill a man and then accuse that man of faking his own death to be a jackass?

Dear Editor,

It is amazing how Mr. Rogers is able to diagnose the absence of internal injuries from across the room, with his back turned (not to mention through metal plate armor). My son's doctor took two hands on examinations to differentiate internal bleeding from constipation. Perhaps Mr. Rogers would also care to explain to professional EMTs how it is unnecessary to take precautions against spinal cord damage by diagnosing whether or not vertebra are broken by just looking. --[Kizmet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kizmet/profile)

Dear Editor,  
If it has little relevance, why is Mr. Rogers making a point to say that Tony Stark lashed out first? And while the wound of his parents' deaths might not be a fresh one, could it not be reopened? Furthermore, do I detect some hypocrisy in Mr. Rogers' words? Trying to stop a teammate who has far overstepped their boundaries? Rallying against BULLIES which would strong-arm and ignore the needs of the people?  
\--[Little_RedHots_Riding_Hood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_RedHots_Riding_Hood/pseuds/Little_RedHots_Riding_Hood)

 

Dear Editor,

Mr Rogers has the empathy of a rock and is insulting every person who has lost someone they loved. Newsflash: it never stops hurting. He doesn't seem to understand that seeing your mum brutally and coldly murdered would greatly distress anyone who has a feeling heart. If he had any interest or care in the mental health of his 'friends' he would have kown about BARF and about Mr Stark himself stating how much he still misses his mum. It was widely speculated and written about in the press and media! --[Xythia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xythia/pseuds/Xythia)

 

Dear Editor,  
I did not know one could earn a medical degree and understand the UN and it's workings while having an ice bath or falling asleep. Believe me, I checked. Rogers was a struggling artist before he became a showgirl-turned-special op. Nowhere did I find even a mention of him attending college to become a doctor or enrolling in a college after he was defrosted. Is it possible the super serum also granted Steve Rogers the super power of self-delusion? Not to mention hypocrisy?! Also, that he thinks that he is doing this for the little guy, for us, the people is self-aggrandizing and absolute bullshit. Pardon my french. He is just trying to prove that he is worth something. And who is he to decide whether or not Winter Soldier and Wanda Maximoff are guilty? If they are not guilty, why is he afraid? Does he expect us to forgive and forget the death of our loved ones, (which could have been prevented) just because he said so?  
I am sorry, Mr. Rogers. A superpowered body without understanding or empathy does not a leader make. Nor does it make you a good human being. Especially when you take advantage of your teammate's resources to find your assassin bff without ever telling him of his parent's murder and then proceed to kill your teammate with said bff. --[Lavanyalabelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavanyalabelle/pseuds/Lavanyalabelle)

 

Dear Editor,

Are we sure that Mr. Rogers doesn't have Little Man Syndrome? Considering how we have little word of his life before he went and attempted to enlist four times (each time lying on his forms) despite his obvious ill health (which would have likely killed any and every one of his squad mates had someone actually been crazy and/or desperate enough to let him pass) was that he hated 'bullies' and wanted 'to fight for the Little Guy'. Despite this, we don't exactly seem to have any proof that he 'fought' for said 'Little Guy' in any quantifiable or useful manner. Then or now.

Tony Stark, on the other hand? Mate, if it ain't his money through the Maria Stark Foundation (let alone other charities) then it's his tech, his workers, his words, his connections or even the man himself when he can make the time. And I have no doubt that a man like that, a genius like that, is busy as all hell. Even if he's only the Head of R&D now. That man gives even when he had been known as the Merchant of Death.

What the fuck has Steve Fucking Rogers done since he's woken up? Nothing that I can find. Not placing his support behind charities and organisations, not raising awareness of important issues, not even donations (did this fucker even get paid? Or have a bank account? Or know his bloody employee rights when SHIELD was still around? Or did he just mooch off of Tony Stark like some tick?) or volunteering. What I did find was tons of videos of him training?? Along with that Falcon dude. Well, when someone didn't post about his he's finally back after his disappearing acts for those Black Ops missions. And that's it???? More or less?????

Mate. Mate, even my old Tamagotchi pet got out more than this fucker and his life span was shorter than this delusional piece of shit.

Frankly, I would not trust a word outta this hypocritical stereotype's fucking dumb mouth and even if he did say something truthful, I'd still double-check/triple-check it because, really, what the fuck has he even learnt about the world today, when he was still stuck in the past?

(By the way, did this fucker even get any therapy? Or were they trying to take it slow on that? Or, more likely, was this person-thing scorning mental health professionals?) -- [konekomata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/konekomata/pseuds/konekomata)

 

Dear Editor,

As to Mr. Rogers assertion that the government tried to persecute the Scarlet Witch, is it Mr. Rogers claim that the family of the people that died in Lagos are not owed any explanation or investigation into their deaths? That no investigation should be made into whether the Scarlet Witch training was sufficient to be in the field? Or what is to be done should another situation such as Lagos come about, or should the public again tamely accept the losses or deaths simply because she's apart of a 'superhero team'?

Well, since Mr. Rogers is so insistent that Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier are not the same, perhaps Dr. Stark was not, in fact, trying to kill Mr. Barnes but was, instead, trying to kill the Winter Soldier. More than likely, Dr. Stark, momentarily lost in the grip of grief and rage, was blind to everyone but the Winter Soldier.

It's interesting to note how Mr. Rogers asserts that Dr. Stark should have dealt with his grief by now, after all, it's been 20 yrs; it would seem that Mr. Rogers applies one rule for Dr. Stark and another rule for himself. I wonder how deep was his grief knowing his friend died...after all, grief fades, at least according to Mr. Rogers. It also makes me wonder, just how desperately grateful and determined is Mr. Rogers to keep his friend free--a friend that he believed died so many years ago? -- [WillJ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillJ/pseuds/WillJ)

 

Dear Editor,  
My maternal grandfather died when my mom was in high school. She is now in her fifties and still gets tears in her eyes when she hears "The Old Rugged Cross", the song played at his funeral. I must wonder what kind of relationship Mr. Rogers had with his own late friends and family, that he could forget the pain of losing a loved one so quickly. -- [aronin3151984](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aronin3151984/pseuds/aronin3151984)

 

Dear Editor,

Obviously the letter from 'Captain America' is a blatant forgery. Please do not further defame his character by printing rubbish from unverified sources in the future.

Captain America would never lump more than one hundred signatory nations together as 'Corrupt' or dismiss a man's grief over his parents' murder as something with an expiration date, like spoiled milk.

It is my personal belief that Dr. Stark went to Siberia without pausing to ask for permission because he feared for Captain America's safety.

Captain America had gone there accompanied by a super soldier who had already nearly killed him once before (I have this on good authority from a friend of a friend who treated the Captain in Washington when he was delirious from his injuries and described his feelings of helpless despair when he was so savagely attacked and overpowered). He did this because he hoped that his old friend was not beyond redemption.

But as was shown by released security films, a simple series of words was all it took to turn the Winter Soldier back into a mindless killing machine.

I stand by my belief that the Winter Soldier killed Tony Stark, despite Captain America's best efforts to defend him, and the good Captain gave his own life in order to ensure no one else suffered. I understand that the location was high in the Siberian mountains, and think it likely that Captain America, failing to defeat the Winter Soldier, clasped him in his arms, and took him over to fall to their deaths together, as Sherlock Holmes did with Professor Moriarty and their bodies are lost in the snow, or perhaps eaten by wolves.

Let us grieve the loss of two great American heroes, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. I once was privileged to attend a charity banquet Dr Stark gave to help the victims of the Sokovia disaster, and I still recall his words about Steve Rogers (who unfortunately could not attend due to other commitments).

Dr. Stark said, "I never do anything half as well as I do when I am at Steve's side."

Hail and farewell, two heroes who perished together, fighting the good fight. -- [AnonEhouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/pseuds/AnonEhouse)

 

Dear Editor,

It’s obvious from this letter that Rogers truly believes what he’s saying, but such delusions don’t appear so suddenly. To reach the point it has gotten to today, he’d had to have at least held such deluded feelings towards the late Mr. Stark since the Ultron incident, or perhaps even as early as the Chitauri attack.

Why did it take the Accords and the murder of Mr. Stark for us all to see this? -- [GhostlyWitchAvenger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostlyWitchAvenger)

 

Dear Editor,

Does Captain America really think he knows better than a psychologist? Sure, Stark has always been reckless but he's still human. Has Rogers forgotten that? Maybe he knows Tony Stark better than a psychologist but the psychologist's interview made a heck of a lot more sense than his letter. And had evidence supporting that. Rogers only evidence was his biased account and Ultron (which Stark tried to make up for). I think Rogers is blowing hot air and needs to have a few lessons on modern times, governments, laws and politics. -- [Me_Llamo_Berry](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Me_Llamo_Berry/pseuds/Me_Llamo_Berry)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of my readers would like to take the time to write their own 'letter to the editor' I would love to post them! please email to mrsfbc@gmail.com put Letter to editor in subject line!


	8. Evidence?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and the American People want evidence. Natasha's more the willing to provide it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaden Xiang is our concerned educator!

A normal person would fume and rage. A normal person would call for justice in distress. A normal person would be distraught at the careless disregard shown to their dead loved one. The Black Widow does nothing. She feels the need to do all of these things, but does not. Instead she reads the comment sections. It seems nearly all American newspapers, YouTubers, Political activists, and every late nate TV show couldn’t help but spread the word. Steven Rogers is delusional and callous. The American people seem to feel the same way.  
The first version of the footage she picked up was the New York Times. Apparently Steve had sent it directly to their office. The letter was monstrous but what was most satifying was the letters to the editor in the next publication. Two in particular stood out to her. One claiming Rogers letter was a forgery. And she’ll admit it she thought so too. Not because she thought Steve too good for such cold disregard, but because she believed he would have stuck his head in the sand and ignored the world.  
The second letter had been from someone calling themselves an educator. The had pointed out a perspective even she hadn’t considered. She knows where her bias of Tony came from, she’s well aware it was her own fault not his, but where did Steve’s come from? She’d put together his debrief packet so she knows he only got the basic demographic information for Tony and Iron Man. She explicitly excluded her review of Tony out of guilt and duty. She had no right to jeopardize a team so important for such a petty reason.

[](https://www.flickr.com/gp/151939941@N04/aff7N9)

 

She never did get why Steve didn’t like Tony. She had thousands of theories, some she considered more likely, but had never considered the possibility that Steve’s impression of Tony was that of US! Weekly and the Global Inquirer.  
It makes sense though, Steve wouldn’t have known those publication to be dubious at best. He wouldn’t have thought twice about that being who Tony truly was, because he knew Howard Stark and the elder Stark was a war-profiteering greedy bastard. She supposed Tony’s defensive tactic of acting the part to drive people away didn’t help matters. Still she thinks after working and living so closely together Steve should have figured out that was crap. Tony was obvious with his affections even if he didn’t display them traditionally.  
She’d also never thought that maybe the cloud of Captain America! that had blinded all of them with heavily opaque rose coloured lenses had blinded Steve too. She understood on some level that the Captain America Coulson and Clint had adored as children, that nearly all of Western Culture heralded as the epitome of human perfection, was a comic book character and the Steve would never live up to those standards. She had still expected a good honest caring man and thus treated him as such from the get go. Seemingly so did the rest of the world.  
Perhaps that further drove his delusion that he was the epitome of everything good. Perhaps the world and to a higher degree those closest to Steve, Sam and her, are responsible for the mess of a person Steve has become. This self righteous monster who thinks his morality stands perfect above everyone else and therefore he can do what he wants and anyone who tries to make him face the consequences must be evil. She supposed she should take the some of the blame in that. She had been the one to tell Tony to not be so blunt when he called out Steve’s shit, she had been the one to notice Tony becoming the scapegoat for Steve’s bad calls and did nothing because Tony could handle it better than Steve.  
She doesn’t think acquiesces Steve of the responsibility for his actions. The American People want evidence? Well she almost as good of a hacker as Tony, and now that Tony is gone she is the best. She confronted Steve many times about the mistreatment of Tony. mistreatment that JARVIS and later FRIDAY have video evidence of. Bad calls and actions that Tony took the fall for. She’ll use the skills Tony taught her to bring Steve down.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came from a mix of a movie a recently watched called Heaven Sent. (really recommend it) and the story Forget Me Not by Cyane. After reading that I wondered what would happen if the dead got to witness what happened afterwards? I wanted Tony to see Team Cap the way the audience does.


End file.
